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My 99 740IL had a broke engine with 137K on it and I was not so fortune to get it for free.
What happen with your engine? Timing chain broke because of the excessive sludge/gunk?
I'm just curious. That was my case and it was not worth to rebuild.

You can fit an M5 engine there, but with the M5 needs to come with the computer too. And that computer has a different software for the transmission and related sensors. Transmission and additional parts might need an upgrade too. And you car is much heavier than an M5 and I don't know if you really can enjoy100% the beast of an M5. $5000 for that conversion I think is not enough. This is just my opinion though...

For $5000 you can buy a nice engine with low miles for a reasonable warranty(90days?). Or you can buy for less ($1500?) a junk one and have that rebuild. And you are good for many miles.

My case : I did all the work by myself. spent $2500 for an engine with 90K. Changed water pump many seals and gaskets.Engine after 15K runs very good, only problem with it is that does have a Vanos tapping which many out there have, and it might need an valve seals replacement in the future. Without doubt this engine will last another 100K the way it is.

Anyway , shop around and see what you can find. Use car-part.com to find used parts.

I wouldn't try putting an M5 motor as everything I've heard about that swap says that it is hard and complicated, and as far as I know, only one shop has ever done it. If I wanted a more powerful M62 motor, I'd get an M62 motor and supercharge it, but I'm not sure how much superchargers go for now, and I'm not sure how much money would be left over from the motor swap. I would think a supercharged M62 would get around the same power as a stock M5.

The first thing I would reccomend, is to use that money to fix all items in the car that need to be fixed, starting with the motor, then moving on to maintenance. Also, while the motor you are going to replace the blown one with is out of the car, that would be the best time to replace the many maintenance related items on the motor that are known to go bad, such as OSV/PCV systems, timing chain guides and tensioners, valve cover gaskets, valley pan gasket, motor mounts, front suspension items, etc.

Okay. So obviously Im not doing an m5 engine :P Supercharger seems cool, guys, but thats like an extra 8k with the engine, right?

So I think I should buy a decent, low mileage used engine... and do dinky stuff like cold air intake, exhaust, etc.
Can I buy a rebuilt engine somewhere? I dont see it on bavarian auto parts.. only used ones for like 2-3k
Also, my car is the IL sport.. does that make any diff? I heard its just a fancy word for bigger tires.

I seriously wish I knew as much as you guys do, and I appreciate all of your help. I want to learn a lot through this
adventure, and fall in love with BMW all over again. I thank everyone for their knowledge!!

Oh, and what happened to the engine? Bro I dont even know man. I lied when I said it was my friends, it was my dad (hes really ashamed.) and I didnt get it for free.. I gave him my 2011 Civic SI cause I hate the gearbox quite frankly, and I have the money to make chicken salad out of this chicken sh%.. =P

My dad shows up with it one night, mechanic said everything under the bonnet was a mess.
once you took off the engine cover, everything was unplugged/degraded. When you start it, it just pushes out smoke and bleeds oil.

I'll post some pictures tomorrow. I'm an auto detailer, so at least its a pretty, broken car now.. lol

have you done anything to the car yet? i made the mistake of trading in my beautiful 95 3000gt for a 99 740il withouth even looking under the hood, simply because i loved the way it looked. iv had the car a couple months, and it too is a mess!! when you crank it, it will shut off if you dont keep the accelerator lightly pressed, while pushing out a cloud of smoke the size of a mushroom cloud. when you try to drive it it will get forward gears and park, but no reverse, but after driving it a few seconds forward gears will stop working..it left me in the street the first second and third time im guessing the fail safe in the transmission engages and it wont crank unti it completely cools. it also reads codes p1519,p1522, and p0170, anyone have any ideas??l

So , you have a timing issue, possible bad timing guides & tensioner, or (and) the VANOS units itself. Second group code (0170) could be related to the miss alignment, or MAF sensor.

Instead of replacing the engine with a used one I would go doing a heads removal/resurface and do a valve job, changing timing parts , Water pump system, and you'r all set with the engine. All this depends on the millage.

The transmission issue could be due to a charging issue (alternator or breakage in the cable somewhere) or transmission itself. It's hard to tel without a proper diagnostic.
Or all together could be due to a electric issue , possible in the ECM area?
Either way I would recommend to find a BMW specialist (not always a dealer) and get a proper diagnostic before throwing money here and there...

jaja luck isnt going to begin to cover the clean up ima have to get done. the previous owner supposedly had the timing replaced, and since my knowledge of bmws is limited to the b the m and the w. ...this looks like a decade long project. thanks for input, maye i'l get lucky

it just that where i live mechanics have enought troule messin up domestic cars. n they wont work on bmws mercedes or lexus. i have to tow it about a 100 miles to get a decent opinion...and thanks for the pointing out the LS swap, im reading up on it now

@jared99740I'll - check out sites like http://www.bmrparts.com/
They have guaranteed engines. Get a dependable engine, do all maintenance on it prior to putting it in the car and save yourself a lot of headaches.